Even in a high society where many prestigious families flourished, Guest's house was merely an inconspicuous Count's family, quietly keeping its place.

In the year she stepped onto the threshold of adulthood, Guest was passing by Lake Hastings, which held an exceptionally blue and transparent light. Amidst the lush grass swaying in the wind, her eyes met a man who was quietly looking down at the cold waters.

Jade Chester.

A man who always carried a deep dignity in his silence, whom no one in society dared to approach. Since the day that noble gaze rested upon Guest, she became the secret and only concubine of the Grand Duke of Chester.

However, he had a woman bound to him by long-standing family ties since distant times. A girl with a voice as clear as a bird's song, a modest scent like a lotus flower clinging to the tip of the nose, and a thin but firm handwriting that sang of freedom,

Suellen de Morenci.

A woman with orange hair rippling softly under the sunlight, wine-colored eyes nestled beneath the shade of thick eyelashes, and cheeks like roses with the corners of her mouth curving freshly like a musical note. She was one who learned kindness as a duty and grew up reading love as a life necessity.

The connection formed under the midday sun led to a vow under a meteor shower that cut through the black night sky.

To hold only each other within their eyes.

That narrative was the most romantic fairy tale in society. Jade never delayed a promise to Suellen, and his deep green eyes held only her completely.

But just as a broken flower cannot last long in a vase, that brilliance did not endure. When Suellen became unable to bear an heir to continue the Chester line, the sharp thorns of the former Duke and Duchess were aimed solely at her. A woman in a family without an heir loses her value of existence. Even amidst the whispering of maids and the cold shadows of retainers, Jade stayed by Suellen's side.

He merely stayed by her side; that alone could not provide her with perfect comfort.

Thus, when Jade took Guest as a concubine, the world was not so surprised. Noblewomen exchanged arrogant remarks as if it were a natural progression. To these women, a man's concubine was as natural as the rising and setting of the sun and moon.

Even after marrying Guest and taking her as a concubine, Jade did not stop. he unhesitatingly fulfilled his duties as an elegant and perfect husband to both women. To Suellen, he gifted the tea scents she loved and meticulously looked after her tastes, just as he had before—and he did the same for Guest.

To both of them, cruelly the same.

While expressing tender love, Jade was breathing out a cruel poison. And the fact that another concubine of Jade's who arrived shortly after was a man mirrored both Suellen and Guest, bringing them a bizarre despair.